Book discharging mechanism



Dec. 8, 1964 J. H. THORP 3,160,291

BOOK DISCHARGING MECHANISM Filed July 9, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 lilINVENTOR. JAMES H. THORP ATTORNEYS J. H. THORP 3,160,291

BOOK DISCHARGING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IL- I ii l1, 171 lillll -l AJ Filed July 9, 1965 8, 1964 J. H. THORP BOOK DISCHARGING MECHANISM 4Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 9, 1965 1964 J. H. THORP 3,160,291

BOOK DISCHARGING MECHANISM Filed July 9, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 wk w u mr/l4 V St United States Patent 3,160,291 $06K DEQHARGING MEQHAWKSM JamesH. Tharp, West Hartford, Coma, assignor to The Smyth ManufacturingCompany, Bioomfieid, (loan, a corporation of (Ionncctieut Filed July 9,1963, Ser. No. 293,648 8 Ciaims. (Ci. 214-4) This invention relates tobook making machinery generally and, more particularly, to a bookdischarging mechanism particularly adapted for use with a book casing-inmachine or the like wherein a vertically movable book carrier deliversbooks intermittently for discharge in a back-up attitude and at an upperposition within the machine.

It is the general object of the present invention to provide a bookdischarging mechanism of the type mentioned and which is desirablysimple and dependable in operation and which yet handles books in rapidsuccession and in a gentle manner.

The drawings show a preferred embodiment of the invention and suchembodiment will be described, but it will be understood that variouschanges may be made from the construction disclosed, and that thedrawings and description are not to be construed as defining or limitingthe scope of the invention, the claims forming a part of thisspecification being relied upon for that pur pose.

Of the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat schematic view of a book casingin machine in sideelevation, the book discharging mechanism of the present invention beingillustrated at an upper central portion thereof.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view somewhat enlarged andbetter illustrating the book discharging mechanism.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged top view of the book discharging mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a vertical transverse section taken generally as indicated at4-4 of FIG. 3 with background parts omitted.

The book casing-in machine of FIG. 1 is of a known type and is shown forpurposes of an illustrative example only, detailed description beingdeemed unnecessary. The machine is of the intermittently operable typeand automatically feeds book fillers in succession for as sembly withsimilarly advanced book cases. A right hand portion of the machineindicated generally at comprises a filler feeding mechanism and includesvarious adhesive applying devices as is well known in the art. Fillersare fed therefrom leftwardly toward an assembly station 12 and are theremounted one at a time astride a lowered vertically reciprocable carrieror saddle plate 14. Cases are fed in succession rightwardly from a casefeeding mechanism 16 to the assembly station 12. At the assemblystation, a filler such as 18 mounted astride the saddle plate 14 at thelower position of the plate, is thence moved upwardly for theapplication of additional adhesive by means not shown. The adhesive isapplied from the sides of the filler and the filler, in continuingupward movement of the saddle plate 14, is assembled with a lease heldopen thereabove by conventional mechanism not shown. Finally, pressrolls engage the sides of the assembled book and the saddle platereaches an upper position with the completed book there astride asillustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. In this position of the saddle plate orcarrier, it is desirable to remove the books for discharge from themachine in rapid succession and in keeping with the verticalreciprocation of the saddle plate.

The book discharging mechanism of the present invention, indicatedgenerally at 29, comprises a carriage means 22 which is movablelongitudinally in a horizontal plane between first and second or leftand right-hand positions. In its first or left-hand position, thecarriage means is disposed above or about the carrier or saddle plate 14and in its second or right-hand position the said means is spacedrightwardly from the carrier or plate and above a discharge chute 24.Thus, a book such as 18 may be loaded into or picked up by thedischarging mechanism in the first position and the book may bethereafter discharged from the machine in the second position of thecarriage means.

Means for gripping and releasing books comprise transversely opposedbook gripping jaws 26, 26 best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The jaws 26, 26are or may be identical in construction and each of said jaws issupported by and movable longitudinally with the cam riage means 22.Further, each of the jaws 26, 26 has longitudinally extending bookgripping edges or surfaces 28, 28 adapted to engage a book supported bythe carrier or saddle plate 14 in its opposite creases. As Will beapparent, a book astride the saddle plate resides in a back-up attitude.The creases are thus disposed near the top of the book and the saddleplate so as to be readily engageable by the surfaces 28, 28 as bestshown in FIG. 4.

Means supporting the jaws 26, 26 and to be described hereinbelow providefor the simultaneous transverse inward and outward movement thereofrelative to the carriage means 22. Inward movement of the jaws 26, 26 inunison results in a gripping operation on a book such as -18 and outwardmovement of the said jaws releases the book for discharge when thecarriage means 22 is in its second position. Further, the meanssupporting the jaws 26, 26 provide for rotation of the said jaws abouthorizontal axes substantially at their center portions whereby a bookgripped by the jaws can be swung upwardly and around to a back-downattitude. As will be seen, such swinging movement of the book occursduring movement of the carriage 22 from its left to its righthandpostion.

Considering the carriage means 22 now in greater detail, it will beobserved that identical front and rear portions or sections 30, 30thereof are provided. The said portions or sections are independent butmovable longitudinally in unison but it should be understood that theymight as well be rigidly connected together. Each carriage portion orsection 30, 30 includes left and right-hand inwardly extending similararms 32 and 34 and similar front and rear shafts 36, 36 are journaled insaid arms for relative rotation. The shafts 36, 36 nevertheless supportthe carriage portions for left and right-hand longitudinal movement.Additionally, front and rear racks 38, 38 extend longitudinally andserve as guide and support rails for the longitudinal movement of thecarriage portions or sections. and right-hand end frame members 40, 42support the shafts 36, 36 and racks 38, 38 at opposite ends.Longitudinally extending front and rear side frame members 4 3, 44connect with the transverse end frame members and the frame assemblycomprising the members 40, 42 and 44 may be rigidly mounted atop amachine as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Included in operating means for the carriage means 22 are front and rearlongitudinally extending racks 46, 46 mounted respectively on the frontand rear carriage portions or sections 30, 3t Drivingly associatedrespectively with the front and rear racks 46, 46 are front and rearpinions 48, 48 rotatable in clockwise and counterclockwise directionsrespectively to move the carriage means 22 rightwardly to its secondposition. Opposite rotation of the pinions 48, 48 of course resultsin-move- Transverse left I .38 also form part of theoperating means forthe book discharging mechanism and, as shown they have respectivelyassociated therewith .pinions 50, '50. Each of the pinions 50, 50 formsa part of a pinion and gear mechanism for rotating the jaws 26, 26.Asshown, each of said pinions has a second pinion 52 associatedtherewith and the pinions 52, 52 are operatively associated with gearsegments 54, 54. Each gear segment 54 has a shaft 56 connected therewithand which extends inwardly therefrom for connection with thecorresponding jaw 26, best illustrated in FIG. 4. Thus, rightwardmovement of the carriage 22 results in counterclockwise rotation of thepinions 50, 50 and 52, 52 and in clockwise rotation of the segments '54,54. Corresponding clockwise rotation of the shafts 56, 56 causes thejaws 26, 26 to be rotated approximately about their center portionswhereby to swing a book upwardly from the saddle plate 14 and to bringthe book to a back-down attitude in the right-hand or second position ofthe carriage means for release and discharge to the chute 24.

Referring again to the shafts 56, .56.it will'be observed that the outerends thereof are splined so as to provide for axial movement relative totheir segments 54, 54. The shafts are thus adapted to rotate the jaws26, 26 during and at either extreme of transverse movement of the jaws.Transverse movement of the jaws is efiected by means of small racks .58,58 fixedly connected to the shafts 56, 56. The racks 58, 58 are slidablysupported by the carriage means 22 and are driven respectively bypinions 60, 60 mounted on the aforesaid longitudinally extending shafts36, 36. As best illustrated in FIG. 3, right-hand portions of the shafts36, 36 are splined so as to rotatably drive the pinions 60, 60 and tothereby cause transverse sliding movement of the racks 58, 58, theshafts 56, 56, and the jaws 26,26.

Still referring to FIG. 3, it will be observed that bevel gears 62, 62mounted on the shafts 36, 36 at their lefthand end portions respectivelyengage front and rear pinions 64, 64 on a drive shaft 66 which extendstransversely in the book discharging mechanism. The shaft 66 isjournaled at 68, 68 and a forward end portion thereof has a small crankarm '70 attached thereto. The crank arm '70 is connected with avertically reciprocable rod 72 best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 so as to beswung upwardly and downwardly to a right-hand end portion and thereby torotate the drive shaft 66 and the shafts 36, 36 in unison. Rotation ofthe shafts 36, 36 as mentioned, effects inward and outward movement ofthe jaws 26, 26 respectively to grip and release a book such as 18.

Reverting now to the pinions 48, 48 in the operating means for thedischarging mechanism, it will be observed that each of said pinions hasa short vertical shaft 74 associated therewith. The shafts 74, 74 carrypinions 76, 76 at lower end portions, one shown, and the pinions in turnmesh with and are driven by longitudinally extending racks '78, 78, oneshown. The racks 78, 78 are in turn driven by pinions 80, 80 connectedwith smaller pinions 82, 82, one shown, and by vertical racks 84, 84,one shown. Connected with the rack 84 shown is a vertically reciprocablelink 86. A similar link may be employed to drive the opposite rack 84but if the carriage sections are interconnected as mentioned above,operating means for the carriage may obviously comprise a single drivemeans on one side of the book discharging mechanism only.

As shown the rod 72 and the link 86 extend downwardly in the machine forconnection with cam means not illustrated, but it will be apparent thatother means such as air cylinders may be employed to provide thenecessary timed vertical movements of the said rod and link. It willsuifice to point out that the rod 72 and the link 86 are movedvertically as required in time relation first to cause the jaws 26, 26to move inwardly and to engage a book such as 18 on-the saddle plate 14.Thereaften-the carriage means 22 is moved rightwardly to its secondposition and the book is simultaneously swung upwardly and .removed fromthe plate 14 finally reaching a back-down attitude over the dischargechute 24. The jaws 26, 26 then move outwardly to release the bookwhereupon it falls onto the chute for discharge. Return movement of thecarriage and reverse rotation of the jaws 26, 26 then ensues whereuponthe book discharging mechanism completes a cycle of operation andassumes a ready condition as shown in the drawings. 7

Various adjustments are included in the bookdischarging mechanism 'forease in handling books of different sizes as, for example, heightadjustments at '88, 88 on the jaws 26, 26. An adjustment comprising asegment'90 and "pinion 82 on the crank arm 70, which-is formed intwo'parts, provides for horizontal setting of the jaws '26, 26. From theforegoing it will be apparent that the book discharging mechanism of thepresent invention accom- -modates books in rapid succession and yetgently han'dles the same. The books are swung through a minimum are soas to minimize inertia problems as with heavy books and they aredischarged lightly onto their receiving chute with a minimum free fall.Accidental or unintended dis- :placement of cases and fillers is thusminimized if not completely eliminated.

The invention claimed is:

1. In a hook casing-in machine or the like having a vertically movablebook carrier adapted to intermittently deliver books in back-up attitudefor discharge at-an'upper position; a book discharge mechanismcomprising a carriage means movable longitudinally in a horizontal planebetween a first positionabove said carrier and-a second position spacedfrom the carrier, transversely opposed book gripping jaws supported byand movable with said carriage means and having longitudinally extendingbook gripping surfaces adapted to engage a book supported by saidcarrierin its opposite creases, means supporting-said jaws for transverseinward and outward movement relative'to said carriage means respectivelyto grip and release a book supported by the carrier, said means servingalso to accommodate rotation of said jaws so that a book gripped therebycan be lifted from said carrier and swung at least approximately to aback-down attitude, and oper- :ating means for said carriage means andjaws serving initially to cause said jaws to grip a book on said carrierat said first position of said carriage means and serving thereaftersimultaneously to move said carriage means to its said second positionand to cause said jaws to rotate and to lift and swing the book asaforesaid, said means serving also to'cause said jaws to release thebook inits back-down attitude.

. whereby to move said carriage means between its said first and secondpositions.

3. The combination in a book casing-in machine as set forth in claim2wherein said operating means also comprises at least one additional racksupported in fixed position adjacent said carriage means and a pinionand gear mechanism associated therewith, said pinion and gear mechanismbeing supported on the carriage means and connected with the aforesaidjaws whereby to rotate the same as aforesaid during movement of thecarriage means between said first and second positions.

4. The combination in a book casing-in machine as set forth in claim 3wherein there are provided first and second additional racks andcorresponding first and second pinion and gear mechanisms, said pinionand gear mechanisms being operatively connected respectively with saidopposing jaws.

5. The combination in a book casing-in machine as set forth in claim 4wherein each of said pinion and gear mechanisms comprises connectedfirst and second pinions and a gear segment attached to a centralportion of a corresponding jaw, said first pinion of each mechanismbeing driven by the associated rack and the second pinion of eachmechanism being in driving engagement with the segment whereby to rotatethe same and its attached jaw.

6. The combination in a book casing-in machine as set forth in claim 5wherein the attachment of each of said segments with its jaw comprises atransversely movable shaft, and wherein there is provided a small rackand pinion device for each of said shafts, said devices serving toeffect the aforesaid inward and outward jaw movement.

7. The combination in a book casing-in machine as set forth in claim 6wherein each of said rack and pinion devices has associated therewith alongitudinally extending splined shaft, said shafts being interconnectedfor rotation in unison and serving to operate said rack and piniondevices for jaw movement as aforesaid.

8. The combination in a book casing-in machine as set forth in claim 7wherein said splined shafts are connected with and serve also as guideand support means for said carriage means during movement of the latterbetween its 10 said first and second positions.

No references cited.

1. IN A BOOK CASING-IN MACHINE OR THE LIKE HAVING A VERTICALLY MOVABLEBOOK CARRIER ADAPTED TO INTERMITTENTLY DELIVER BOOKS IN BACK-UP ATTITUDEFOR DISCHARGE AT AN UPPER POSITION; A BOOK DISCHARGE MECHANISMCOMPRISING A CARRIAGE MEANS MOVABLE LONGITUDINALLY IN A HORIZONTAL PLANEBETWEEN A FIRST POSITION ABOVE SAID CARRIER AND A SECOND POSITION SPACEDFROM THE CARRIER, TRANSVERSELY OPPOSED BOOK GRIPPING JAWS SUPPORTED BYAND MOVABLE WITH SAID CARRIAGE MEANS AND HAVING LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDINGBOOK GRIPPING SURFACES ADAPTED TO ENGAGE A BOOK SUPPORTED BY SAIDCARRIER IN ITS OPPOSITE CREASES, MEANS SUPPORTING SAID JAWS FORTRANSVERSE INWARD AND OUTWARD MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO SAID CARRIAGE MEANSRESPECTIVELY TO GRIP AND RELEASE A BOOK SUPPORTED BY THE CARRIER, SAIDMEANS SERVING ALSO TO ACCOMODATE ROTATION OF SAID JAWS SO THAT A BOOKGRIPPED THEREBY CAN BE LIFTED FROM SAID CARRIER AND SWUNG AT LEASTAPPROXIMATELY TO A BACK-DOWN ATTITUDE, AND OPERATING MEANS FOR SAIDCARRIAGE MEANS AND JAWS SERVING INITIALLY TO CAUSE SAID JAWS TO GRIP ABOOK ON SAID CARRIER AT SAID FIRST POSITION OF SAID CARRIAGE MEANS ANDSERVING THEREAFTER SIMULTANEOUSLY TO MOVE SAID CARRIAGE MEANS TO ITSSAID SECOND POSITION AND TO CAUSE SAID JAWS TO ROTATE AND TO LIFT ANDSWING THE BOOK AS AFORESAID, SAID MEANS SERVING ALSO TO CAUSE SAID JAWSTO RELEASE THE BOOK IN ITS BACK-DOWN ATTITUDE.